The dark halfelven of Imladris
by TheGreatCoralReef
Summary: The ring's evil gets into Elrond's mind, and he becomes evil too.
1. Chapter 1

-The Dark Half-Elven Lord Of Imladris-

It felt queer, when Elrond first saw it in the hands of Sauron, when he fought the battle with the last alliance of men and elves.  
>But then, he was much younger, more stronger in physical power, and also was more clean. The Elrond in the past was a young, innocent elven warrior.<br>He did feel queer, but didn't care about his feelings and did his best to persue Isildur to destroy it.

But now, more than 6000 years old, he couldn't deny that he sometimes was evil even once in his long life. Now that he saw it on Frodo's neck, he lost his speech and stared at it, forgetting his duty as a healer.  
>"Father! What are you doing? The hobbit is seriously wounded. He needs to be healed at once." said Arwen, breaking the thought of her father.<br>Elrond came back to himself at once, and started to heal the wound.

When Frodo was calmed and healed, Elrond sat on a chair beside the hobbit and stared at the One Ring again. Then, he suddenly found his hand upon it, and shaked his head. Fool, he thought, to be tempted to take the ring. But he couldn't stop thinking about taking it, claiming it as his, and conquer the whole Middle earth. 'Why am I living like this, like a fool?' demanded the evil of Elrond's mind. 'I have lived over 6000 years, aiding in wars, healing the wounded, giving hospitality to travelers, sharing my wisdom and power. But what did they do to me? I'm stuck here in Imladris, always the one who gives, and the one who shares. My only precious, Vilya, has lost her power, now nothing but a symbol. Why don't I take the ring, and be the One Ruler of Middle earth?'  
>His hand was slowly lifted, and moved towards Frodo's neck.<br>But then, Gandalf entered the room. Elrond quickly pretended as if he was reaching for Frodo's forehead, though his movements became awkward.

"Master Elrond!" exclaimed Gandalf, making Elrond choke, for the elf thought Gandalf saw what he was intending to do. " Is Frodo all right? The others are on their way, with Aragorn." Then Elrond found out that the wizard was just worried about Frodo, and calmed.  
>"Yes, at least, I think so. Though I think there is a piece of the sword still inside him. I'll need to pull it out." answered Elrond, though barely a whisper came out of his lips.<br>"Elrond, are you all right? You are as pale as snow, and you are sweating also. Maybe you should get something to eat, and have some sleep also. It has been nearly 5 hours since you started the healing."  
>"5 hours! Impossible! I was here just for an hour or so." exclaimed Elrond, suddenly looking at the sun.<br>" Alas! The sun is already falling! You are right, Gandalf. I do need some rest." said the healer, and went out of the room.


	2. Chapter 2

-The Dark Half-elven of Imladris-

Until poor Frodo became conscious, Elrond spent hours each day, staring at the ring after he did his duties as a healer. Of course, the others thought strange of him, but the elf could cover it up with the fact that he was a healer, and the wound was very serious, so he had to keep watch on him, and the healing took a long time too.

The ring seem to have taken his mind. Sometimes he couldn't believe that he, the fairest among the elves and men, was being taken by the ring. Elrond tried to shake it off, but even if he was far from it, he could still hear its whispers. By the time Frodo woke up, Elrond was going nearly mad. His mind became weary of trying to ignore it, and the ring seemed to have chasing him. It came in dreams, he could hear its whispers, and even the cheerful singing of the birds changed into whispers.

But Elrond had a mind strong as metal, and he tried to act casual, for he feared to show his evil to the others who believed him so much.  
>"Welcome to Rivendell, Frodo Baggins.", he managed, and thankfully, Merry and Pippin distracted Frodo and Gandalf. The hobbits talked and laughed joyfully, and Frodo was happy to meet his old Bilbo again.<p>

And after when the guests were ready, the feast began. At the Hall everybody ate and drank cheerfully. So did Elrond, at least, for a while.  
>"You know, master Elrond, you are really acting strangely. You seem to be inside in thoughts even when you are talking, and you are indeed very pale.<br>You look painful." said Gandalf, his smile fading. "Gandalf is right. You've been in a good mood until...until master Frodo came." agreed Arwen, suddenly looking worried.  
>"Wait, until Frodo came? Until he saw the Ring? Are you fighting the Ring, Elrond?" asked Gandalf suspicously.<br>"NO, I'm NOT! So leave me! It is none of your business!" cried Elrond, suddenly angry and standing up from his chair. Silence passed. Everyone looked at him with surprised eyes.  
>"All right, all right. No need to be angry. Go have some rest, master Elrond, for you have a council after the feast. You should be ready for it" said the wizard, though there was a glint of suspicion in his eyes.<p>

Elrond rushed out of the Hall, and ran straight to his room. After he left, Gandalf whispered to Arwen,"Please go to your father and find out his problems, Lady Arwen."  
>"I had the same idea,"Arwen whispered back, and quietly, she leaved the Hall, following her father.<p>

"O Earendil! What is happening to me? I was okay the last time, why is it eating me now, when every kind of folk are gathered in my Hall for a feast?"  
>Elrond kicked his chair, but sadly, it only hurt his foot. He stumbled down in his chair, and cursed in every language that existed in Middle earth, for he knew them all.<p>

"Father, you are pale, and you look more ill than the ring-bearer, who has been stabbed. Why don't you just tell me your pain, and I'll do my best to rescue from this deadly illness, or at least share it, for you may feel easier."said the daughter with her beautiful singing voice. Only hearing her soft voice seemed to have eased the torture, though Elrond was still red.  
>"Arwen, I want to tell you, to Gandalf, and to everyone who I know and I want to beg them for help, but I can't. It will ruin everything. Their trusting of this place and me will be gone, and your heart will be teared in pieces; for you will discover your true father's mind." said Elrond, falling in tears.<p>

"I wish naneth was here, to help you, father. I wish she didn't sail to the Grey Havens."cried Arwen, hugging his father tightly.  
>"No, if she didn't sail, she would be dead, and it won't do any good. But I do miss her a lot, now that I'm in great pain."<p>


	3. Chapter 3

-The Dark Half-elven of Imladris-

Elrond and Arwen's hugging and crying was interrupted by Elladan and Elrohir. Because of their sudden entrance, the two elves were very embarrased.  
>"Elladan! Elrohir! Don't you have manners? It was a very impolite move, I say." shouted Elrond. The twins smiled, and Elrohir said, "Now that's like our father, isn't it, Dan?" "I agree," said Elladan,"though our father in the Hall wasn't polite at all. He was screaming at his guests!" "Really? What an im-<br>polite move!" The twins grinned, and thanks to them, Elrond could wipe out his tears, laugh, and forget about the ring for even just a moment.

Elrond managed his council very well, though everybody stared at him with funny faces; especially Gandalf. "Then so it be," Elrond said, "The Fellowship of the ring, you shall journey to Mount Doom and destroy the Ring." He hesitated a little when he thought about destroying it, but remembering the day when the Ring betrayed Isildur, he made up his mind tightly.

After the Council, Elrond lay in his bed, for he felt very tired mentally. He closed his eyes to sleep, but the Ring started to appear in his mind again, and the little but strong evil part of Elrond came out again. Still, he slept for a while, and he had a sight.

It was dark, and there was goblins, fire and shadow everywhere. The Balrog was waving his whip to the Fellowship, and on the bridge, Gandalf fell. Frodo cried.

Elrond woke and found himself sweating. He knew it was the future. It was the future that Gandalf will fall to the shadows of Moria, and the others will be lost. And then, Elrond got an evil idea. He would follow the Fellowship unseen in his cloak, and in the darkness of Moria, where they will lose Gan-  
>dalf, he will steal the ring, and take it himself. Elrond shook his head to keep it off his mind, but it kept appearing in his mind again and again.<p>

The day finally came when the Fellowship finally started their long journey. "Farewell!" said Elrond. But he soon disapeeared to take his horse and cloak.  
>He dressed himself like a Black Rider, despite the fact that he didn't shriek like Nazguls.<br>"Where are you going, lord Elrond?" asked Glrofindel. "And why are you in a black cloak? I thought you were a Nazgul!" Elrond hesitated, for when he saw the merry and woried face of Glrofindel, he was back in his mind for a moment. "I...I have to talk with Thranduil, that's all. And for my cloak, uh...  
>I just took the cloak nearest to me." "Ah, I see. Well...then farewell for you too, my lord. I will take care of Rivendell with the twins, while you are absent." said the gold-haired elf warrior.<br>Elrond said nothing, and he rode. To take the Ring. To conquer the whole Middle earth. 


	4. Chapter 4

-The Dark Half-elven of Imladris-

It has been days since Elrond left Rivendell and followed the Fellowship. They were now heading to Moria, after the struggle in the mountains. Elrond kept his pace: not seen, but close enough to watch. At days, he kept himself in the shadows, and at nights, he trotted his black horse, and was very surprised about how he was getting so much used to hide in the dark, from the lights.

One night, Elrond sneaked near the tired companions, and watched them. They were having a short meal, including some dried fruit, bread, and meat .  
>After the eating and drinking, they made a small fire, hidden between them, to be warm and sleep. Elrond watched them steadily, hiding behind some bushes. A while later, as Elrond saw the fire, he thought about his homely house at Rivendell, Arwen, the twins, and Celebrian. Yes, Celebrian, he thought. What would she say if she saw me like this, in the shadows trying to do evil?<p>

Then Elrond suddenly felt cold. Of course he had to be cold, since the weather was freezing. But since then Elrond felt nothing at all, so he didn't know how much his body was suffering. He crept down, and slowly he walked towards the fire, wanting to be warm for a while. The Elf felt as if he was melt ing as he stood beside the fire. He relaxed a little, and didn't hear Aragorn waking up.  
>" Who are you!" cried the Ranger, as he laid his sword to the hooded stranger's neck. Aragorn waked up the other companions by shouting, and soon Elrond was surrounded.<p>

" You are no orc, nor any Nazgul. Who are you? Reveal yourself!" cried Gandalf. Elrond hesitated. " Take off your hood or you'll have an axe stuck in your body, coward!" followed Gimli. "You'll be sliced in half before you ever lift your axe, Gimli son of Gloin." said Elrond in a very low voice, so that the others wouldn't notice him. "Alas! But how does he know my name?" Then suddenly, a hadhafang appeared in the stranger's hands, and Legolas's jaw dropped.  
>"An elf! How can an elf be so evil? It is impossible!"shouted Legolas, showing great despair. "An Elf? What makes you so sure, Legolas son of Thranduil,<br>What if I slayed an Elf and took his weapon for myself?" asked Elrond, and this only made the younger elf more angry.  
>"Slow down. Legolas. For now, fighting him is the most important problem." said Gandalf in a clear voice.<p>

The fight started as Gimli, furious about this stranger's manner of talking, made a stroke at Elrond's arm. "Aargh!"moaned Elrond in his voice as the cold axe struck in his flesh. He striked back, and the fight continued as the hobbits bit, Legolas and Aragorn stroke with their swords and knife, and Gimli his axe. Elrond fought back, but he was hesitating when he wounded the others who were his friends, and even for Elrond, it was hard to fight 4 hobbits, an elf, 2 men, a dwarf, and a wizard at once.

Soon, Elrond felt like the most tired living thing in the whole world, and there were too many of them for him. Legolas's arrow struck his back, and he felt great pain from not only his back, but every part of his body. Gandalf didn't miss it, and using his staff, he hit Elrond hard to the ground.  
>"Now," said Gandalf, "can you reveal yourself?" Elrond couldn't say anything, and then he felt crumbled ground under him.<br>"Nay," and Elrond threw a handful of dust on the wizard, and ran. 


	5. Chapter 5

-The Dark Halfelven of Imladris-

"We lost him!"cried Boromir desperately. "Yes, we did. But now we have some clues, such as his weapon, his voice, and his blood. It's on Gimli's axe."  
>said Gandalf, and tasted the blood. "Who was it, Gandalf?" chorused Merry and Pippin. "I'm afraid it's an elf. And worse, a very high, and fair elf, who turned evil now." "An elf? How can it be?" demanded Legolas, and he sat down, his head bowed.<p>

Silence continued, until Sam broke it as he pointed somewhere and shouted, "Look! A pool! Though it creeps me like the stranger in black." "It's Moria,  
>Sam." said Frodo. "I read about in a book of Elrond's.", he added, as the others stared at him in surprise.<p>

Elrond, wounded seriously, struggled behind them, swearing to himself that he will never do such a foolish thing like the day before. He lost his horse,  
>so it made things for him more difficult. But when he saw the pool, he thought about the ring, and again felt nothing but the willing to have the ring. He went on, and on for several hours until he arrived at the gate of Moria and saw Gandalf guessing the password.<p>

"What do we do now? There's some spooky guy who might be anywhere, Sauron is growing, Saruman betrayed us, and now we cannot enter Moria!"  
>muttered Boromir. "Boromir's right, Pippin. I should've been in the Shire, having some tea or smoking." whispered Merry. Elrond made a small laugh. Why couldn't they understand this simple riddle? Even Gandalf wasn't so wise.<p>

"Hahaha!" laughed Gandalf. "It's so easy! Mellon!" The door opened, and the fellowship entered the mine, not noticing a dark shape following behind them.

Now they were all before the tomb of Balin, in silence as Gimli wept. Elrond saw the curiosity in Pippin's eyes, and he smiled. Pippin touched the skeleton,  
>and it fell down and down, and they heard drums. 'Boom, boom, boom, boom' They blocked the door and prepared to fight, and Elrond climbed up a wall,<br>so that nobody would see him, and the goblins wouldn't attack him.

Then he saw Frodo. "Mr. Frodo!" cried Sam. The lights in the hobbits eyes began to disappear slowly. The others all looked at him with desperat eyes. Elrond carefully climbed down, and slowly, he reached for the ring, forgetting his original plan to take it after Ganalf's fall. First, he reached it trying to be unseen, but now coming closer to it, he forgot everything but the ring.  
>"It's the stranger!" shouted Sam, who was the first who saw the cloaked figure approaching. "You!" cried Legolas with fiery eyes. "How can you do such a thing for your own good, as a high elf?" Elrond smiled, and said, " It's for the elves' good, young one. It may seem foolish, or maybe even cruel, but It shall give power to us elves, and we will have the Middle earth under our control, as we did in the past."<p>

As he ended his words, he made a quick move to take the ring from Frodo, and ran. "No!" cried Gandalf with more fiery eyes than Legolas, and ran after him. "You traitor! We are not the same as you. You'll be punished!" followed Legolas. "Now, they will soon get back with the ring, so we'll have to do something with Frodo" said Aragorn in a serious voice. "No, there will be no need for that. I'm all right, though I feel alive, and very light." suddenly whispered Frodo, surprising the others. "But how?" chorused the three other hobbits. "Mithril. It is unbelievable!" said Aragorn. "It's Bilbo. Looks like he just saved my life." 


	6. Chapter 6

-The dark halfelven of Imladris-

Elrond ran at a speed he didn't run before, he was faster than eagles, and the dark covered all aroung him "He's too fast!" exclaimed Legolas. "It's the ring.  
>I think that elf is the only one who can master it, except Sauron."said Gandalf. "What? You mean he overpowers the ring?" "Yes. Maybe he fits the ring better than even Sauron. But how did he know his power linked with the ring? He must have seen it for a great deal of time, or touched it to make contact.<br>Now, who is an elf that had a chance to see the ring for a long time?" asked Gandalf.  
>"It's none of my folk. Some doesn't even know it. And the others, well... They didn't have the chance. Which leaves...Rivendell!"<p>

"Mithril? What is it?" asked Pippin. "The beauty of Moria. Light as feather, hard as drangon skin. It can be said as invincible."answered Aragorn quietly.  
>"Look! There comes Gandalf and Legolas!" shouted Gimli merrily. "I hope you ripped that elf in two." "Sorrowfully, we couldn't, Gimli. He ran faster than eagles there's no way to catch him." "And the ring?" "Sorry, Master Frodo. But we did find out who it might be, though it's ridiculous..and can be said as impossible, too." apologized the elf. "Well, then? Who is it?"asked Gimli urgently. "It might be...Elrond." replied Gandalf, bowing his head down.<p>

Gasps came out of his lips. He was totally exhausted. Elrond looked back to check that nobody was following him, and took something out of his pocket.  
>"The One Ring." murmured the elf, not gasping for air anymore. He put it on. He didn't disappear. "What? Why won't it work?" cried Elrond in fury. He kicked a stone next to him, and it flew for leagues. Elrond's jaw dropped. 'But why won't I disappear? Only Sauron doesn't, for he is the master.' and he stopped. 'What if I am the master also? Than it wouldn't be as I worried. It wouldn't betray me! I will bear it forever!' he made a sly laugh at the thought of that, realizing his power.<p>

"What do we do now?" said Boromir, his head bowed. "First, we go to Lothlorien as we planned. There, we'll have a place to think, and some advice from Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn." said Gandalf, his head bowed also. "Gandalf's right. We cannot follow him. But at least the ring wouldn't go to Sauron's hands. Our task for now is to siege Rohan and Gondor." followed Aragorn.

"Elrond!" cried Glrofindel. "Dear Earendil, look at you! Where's your horse? Your cloak is ripped, and you've got wounds everywhere!" Elrond hesitated again, for Glorfindel made himself come back a little, but again, he lied. "I was attacked by a troops of orcs, and they just wouldn't let me go."  
>" O father!" cried Arwen, running towards him and falling in her atar's arms. "Elladan, Elrohir, and I were worried so much! After your headache, I feared you woulg go wrong!" Elrond held his silence, with no emotion on his face. "Father? What's wrong with you? You look...different." Elrond said nothing,<br>pushed Arwen off his arms, and rushed to his room coldly. "What the-" said Elladan and Elrohir together, with surprised faces. Arwen fell in tears, and Glorfindel followed after Elrond to his room.

"Elrond! Elrond! What's wrong with you? You made lady Arwen cry!" shouted Glorfindel. "That isn't important for now, Glorfindel. For now, I want my army ready to fight." "What? Are you mad? We elves are not going to fight. We will sail!" "No, nobody can unless I say so. We will attack Rohan." 


	7. Chapter 7

-The dark halfelven of Imladris-

"Seriously, Elrond! You've absolutely gone mental by that headache!" shouted Glorfindel, making an angry face, though he wasn't actually angry. "No!"  
>said Elrond. "I was mental, but the test, what you call the headache, has brought me back to my mind!" Glorfindel sighed, and whispered gently, "Look,<br>if you attack Rohan, which will never happen, elves will die, and if you lose, you and your children will be enlaved. You don't want that, don't you?"  
>"I shall win, and some sacrifices has to be done." smirked Elrond. "Oh Elrond..." Glorfindel put his hand gently on the other elf's shoulder, and Elrond cried,<br>"Don't you dare stop me, Glorfindel! Don't you dare to stop the ring's way!" and suddenly, Elrond was himself again. "Glorfindel...What is happening to me? What have I done?" "Wait, did you just said the rin-" the warrior was interrupted as Arwen, Elladan and Elrohir rushed into the room.  
>"We heard...Atar shouting.. he never shouted like that..." whispered Arwen, as she fell in tears again.<p>

"How much left to Lothlorien?" asked Frodo, gasping. "Just a few leagues, and we're nearly there." said Gandalf. Gimli grumbled, "Elves. I don't like them,  
>but still, they do live beautifully." as he walked through the woods. The high trees were shining, the air as clear, the birds' singing was heard. They soon arrived at the city of Lothlorien, and was welcomed by Haldir. "Welcome, my friends, except for I see there is a dwarf among you." "He is a good one, and a fair one, too. Gimli is not harmful." replied Legolas, surprising Gimli.<p>

"Father, what's wrong with you? Why did you become like this?" asked Elladan, hugging Elrond. "I.. I think the ring sort of.. overcame me. It made me,"  
>Elrond hesitated, and said, "It made me... Aargh!" The ring was in his mind again. "Father, what did it make you to do?" questioned Elrohir. Elrond tried to talk, but the ring's voice came out instead. "Elrond's not here." it whispered.<p>

"Wow! Now look at this, Mr. Frodo!" exclaimed Sam, as he entered the city of Lothlorien, jaws dropped. Frodo smiled, and said, "Yes, Sam. This city is marvelous. You wanted to see the elves, and now you see a big city full of elves." "Not any elves." said Aragorn, who has been silent for a few days. "Here,  
>in the city of Lothlorien, lives the Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn." "Now, just a few steps and you'll have the pleasure to meet the great lady Galadriel."<br>announced Haldir proudly. "Just a few steps? Looks like about a thousand steps to me." muttered Boromir, looking at the large amount of stairs to take to arrive at the top of the tower. After a while, the fellowship and Haldir finally arrived at the top, and saw Galadriel and Celeborn. "Lady Galadriel," murmured Gandalf politely, as he bowed.

"Elrond?" asked Glorfindel. "I said, Elrond's not here. I am Durion, the spirit of the great one ring." whispered Durion, with the body of Elrond. "Wh-what happened to him?" asked Elrohir, who became as pale as snow. Glorfindel pointed at Durion's hand, instead of answering the question. "The ring! You don't mean that..the ring overcame our father?" "This is the last thing I've thought of, but yes, though I don't know how." Elladan and Elrohir was stunned,  
>and Arwen grabbed Durion's hands. "Atar! It's me, Undomiel! Please say to me that this is a dream!" "Your father is gone, foolish elf. He had a strong mind, but the ring overpowered him, by using his wisdom." sneered Durion coldly.<p>

"Master Gandalf," replied the elf lady and lord, slowly nearing them. They were both very beautiful, and they were shining softly like the moonlight. The rest bowed also, and a silence followed. "You have a problem," said Galadriel, breaking the silence. "I see no evil with you, but only despair. Tell me your story, for I shall give you advice." Gandalf, Aragorn, and Legolas told their story to the elves, and of course, Galadriel and Celeborn seemed very sad.  
>"Sorrowfully, we've got just one advice for you,"started Celeborn, Galadriel continued, "You should go back to Imladris right now, and if Elrond is the thief,<br>you must fight him, get it off him, and destroy it, though you must not kill him." There was a long silence, and finally Boromir said, "Then what are we waiting for? We must go back. We don't have a minute to lose!" "Yes, but all the way across Moria will be deadly, and even if we succeed, it would take some time." said Sam, and Haldir smiled at that. "Don't worry about that, young hobbit. We elves will lead you. It will take just about a week or so."  
> <p>


	8. Chapter 8

-The dark halfelven of Imladris-

"Are we there?" asked Gimli, completely exhausted. He added, "And also, am I the only one who is tired?" Sam shook his head, saying "Nay, put me and Mr. Frodo on the list. I can't feel my feet anymore, and I'm seeing things floating around me." "Add us too! Do these people know about resting?" shouted Merry. Legolas smiled, and said, "Sorry, my friends. But the ring is stolen, and we don't have a second to lose. Hurry up!"

"Lord Elrond, I heard you needed me?" asked Upadion, raising an eyebrow. Upadion was an elvish warrior like Glorfindel, but he was always hooded and was known as a servant of Sauron, therefore he was a prisoner. "Father! Why did you summon Upadion? He is a betrayer, and a servant of the evil!"cried Elladan, glaring at Upadion. Elrond(Durion) ignored his son, and turned to the hooded warrior, saying "I heard you were friendly with Goblins, and Orcs."  
>Upadion stared at Elrond by suprise, and said, "I was.. but not now! Please don't punish me for that! I just had a talk with them!" Durion laughed, and whispered, "No, I won't punish you. But I need you to do me favor." Upadion demanded, "How can I help you?" "I need you to talk to your friends. You know what I mean, Upadion?" Glorfindel gasped, and Upadion laughed, "Of course, my lord! Finally you understood how to be a true leader!"<p>

"Again, are we please there?" asked Gimli, and Ganalf rolled his eyes. "Yes, my friend! It up there! We wouldn't miss dinner, if we hurry up a bit." "Great!  
>I liked these elvish food." exclaimed Pippin, drinking his bottle of water. "Actually, we shall have elvish lunch, Master Took." said Haldir. "How's that possible? We need to go around this mountain, which would take about 5 hours at least." said Gandalf "Nay, we'll go through the mountain, which will take less than 2hours." and with that, Haldir walked into the forest. "Wait for me!" cried Gimli, more merrily than ever. "Here it is, the secret tunnel to Imladris." announced Haldir proudly. "This tunnel has a legend that Elbereth built it, though nobody believes in it except for Elrond, Galadriel, Celeborn, Thranduil, and a few elves." They all entered the tunnel, half afraid, for it was covered with darkness.<p>

Upadion galloped happily towards Isengard, leaving the elves alone. "Atar..." said Arwen, but Durion rushed in to his room with a cold glance at Arwen.  
>Glorfindel stopped Arwen following Elrond, and said,"He is not your father, Arwen. It appears to me that the spirit of evil, Durion has entered your father's body." Elladan hugged his sister, whispering words of comfort in elvish. "But what spirit could overpower our father? How?"<p>

"Haldir, I think I know why nobody believes in the legend you told us." whispered Sam. "Why?" "Well, it's a bit ugly... If a goddess built it, I expected something shiny, you know." But he was proved wrong, as Boromir shouted, "Look at this!" He was standing in front of a giant door, with a window on it. Through the window they could see a gleaming hallway. The floor was decorated with shiny stones, as Sam imagined, and on the walls were lamps glimmering with green lights. Statues of beautiful creatures, legendary elves, including Elbereth, stood besides the hallway. "Beautiful.." whispered Aragorn,  
>for he couldn't find any other word that best described the hallway. "Now, let us enter this magnificent tunnel." said Haldir, waking everyone up from staring. He took out a small key from his sleeves, and opened the door with it. The hallway was very long, but it took no more than an hour to pass it.<br>"Finally, we're back." sighed Frodo, as he saw Elrond's herbs again.

"Lady Arwen!" said Gandalf loudly, as he caught the sight of her tears. "O master Gandalf!" cried Arwen, and she fell into his arms, embarrasing the old wizard. "It was.. so strange after you left! It's our father.. our father.." cried the elf. "You've said enough my lady, now, stay here, I will talk to your father."  
>But before Gandalf could lift his head from Arwen, Elrond(Durion) sprang out of his room, saying, "Master Gandalf! It is a surprise to see you here, with Haldir!" The elf looked fine to him, but he still suspected and said, "I've heard you had some problems here in Imladris?" Durion raised his eyebrows, and said, "What a rumor! Nothing wrong is happening here, we were having a peaceful time. Didn't we, Arwen?" "Liar!" cried Arwen, slapping Elrond's face hard. "Lady Arwen!" shouted Haldir in surprise. "He is not our father, my lords, he is Durion, the spirit of the Ring!" Durion glared at Arwen, and hissed, "Stupid elf, don't you understand? It is me, Durion, who you are talking to, but it is your father you just hit! You can't hurt me, for I only stay in Elrond's mind." This made everyone stare at him with their jaws dropped, and Merry whispered, "We've got a probelm here." <p>


	9. Chapter 9

-The dark halfelven of Imladris-

Heavy silence followed, and it seemed that except for Gandalf, Aragorn, and Legolas, everybody was afraid of Durion. "What do we do now?" whispered Pippin, completely frozen by fear. Merry didn't say anything but hold Pippin's hands with his sweaty ones, and shuddered.  
>It was Glorfindel who broke the long silence.<br>"Elrond!" he shouted, stepping forward. "I know that you can overpower the spirit. Do not give up!" Durion moaned as he heard the words of encouragement,  
>and Arwen could feel a slight change of her father, but it didn't last long. The others and Glorfindel felt the change, too. The ring-spirit glared at the gold-haired warrior, and stepped forward to reach him. "A Elbereth Gilthoniel!" cried Glorfindel louder, and Durion fell on his knees with a blood-curling cry. For a while it seemed as the spirit was dying, but the ring's power came back to him. He stood up again as nothing happened, and laughed, "Did you think that it is possible to overpower me with those elven hymn of yours, Glorfindel?"<p>

The hope faded as Durion seemed more evil than ever after Glorfindel's words. "Tell me, Durion, if you are so strong, why don't you just kill us all now, instead of giving information to us?" demanded Gandalf, in a soft, but threatening voice. "Nice question," said Durion, "But sorrowfully, I cannot answer you question, Gandalf the grey." he paused, and continued, "Well, it seems to me that we are losing our patience, so shall I start?" Boromir frowned teasingly, and said, "Start what? Surely if you have eyes, you know that we have a whole fellowship and you are on your own." Durion made an evil laugh, and Frodo felt like his blood was frozen.  
>"Oh no, Boromir son of Denethor, for the army of Rivendell knows nothing about my... change. They'll think you as betrayers, and you have forgotten my powers." and with that, he made a bench fly at Aragorn with a flick of his finger. "Strider!" Thanks to Sam's alarming, the ranger managed to dodge, and save himself from the huge stone bench.<p>

"Forgive me, Elrond!" cried Glorfindel, and shot an arrow at the elf's chest. The arrow hit the center of Elrond's chest, but Durion pulled it off cooly, and said, "Doing that will only make an additional scar to his body." Legolas's eyes widened as he saw the wound closed, and healed itself. "He is invincible!" shouted Legolas, "We cannot fight him! We need to flee!" The others agreed, and the hobbits were happy about their companions'  
>agreement. "Run! Quickly!" cried Boromir, as they headed to the hallways again, with gritted teeth.<br>"Flee! Run away and prepare to be defeated!" sneered Durion, laughing.

"I can't believe I ran away just like that from a mental elf!" cried Gimli, pulling his beard by anger. Aragorn sighed and said, "He is not mental, nor an elf,  
>Gimli. Durion controls Elrond, and he cannot help it. It would be very hard to say such a thing to his daughter for Elrond." "Do not be angry of yourself of your decision, Gimli, for it was the best thing to do." said Gandalf. Haldir, Gandalf, and Aragorn sat down each on a stone,<br>and talked for a few hours, leaving the hobbits in curiosity. "What do you think we will going to do now?" whispered Sam. "I dunno... Maybe they'll get us back to the Shire" replied Merry hopefully, though Sam wasn't asking to him, but to Frodo.

"So?" demanded Boromir, not very pleased about Haldir, Gandalf and Aragorn deciding all by themselves, leaving him alone with some hobbits, a dwarf,  
>and four elves. "We decided to head to Gondor, gain some men," Aragorn was announcing their plan, when Glorfindel interrupted, "No! We need to go to Rohan, and aid Theoden king. Durion is planning to attack Rohan when his army gets ready." "Army? What army does he have? The elves will realize something wrong as soon as he commands them to attack not only Rohan, but even Isengard, or Mordor." argued Aragorn. Glorfindel sighed, and said, "Durion sent Upadion to Isengard, to create an army of orcs, goblins, maybe even trolls. It has been a few days since he left Rivendell, so he would be at Rivendell in a day or so."<p>

"Arwen, are you all right?" asked Aragorn softly. They were all settled in the hallways, a small fire lit in the center. Arwen sniffed, and made out a smile.  
>But her smile soon faded, and she whispered, "No. I'm not. I just hope that everything is nothing but a bad dream, and when I wake up, there would be my father to comfort me." Then the beautiful lady smiled sadly again, and said, "Sorry, Aragorn. I said a foolish thing, didn't I? I'll just have some sleep."<br>The ranger nodded, and turned to Haldir, saying, "I know we would be safe and unseen in this tunnel, but just in case, I'll take watch." Haldir nodded, and said, "Good, wake me up after about three hours." and slowly went to sleep.  
> <p>


	10. Chapter 10

-The dark halfelven of Imladris-

Meanwhile in Rivendell, the strangest things happened. Orcs and trolls suddenly entering Rivendell, the traitor Upadion suddenly becoming a captain, and Durion's speech. The elves were all out of their rooms to hear the reason why the creatures they hated the most was being welcomed by their lord.  
>"Elves of Imladris, do not be afraid of the sudden visit. These kind orcs and trolls have came under my orders, for we shall need them when the war starts.<br>Of course, our elven army will participate the war too, but I guessed they just wouldn't be enough." The crowd stared at their fake lord, some elves now starting to sense something different about him. "My lord! This is complete nonsense! You can't bring those foul creatures in our fair city of Imladris!" argued Erestor, who was among the confused crowd,  
>having no idea what happened to Elrond. Durion glanced at Erestor and the other elves, and announced in a threatening voice, "What makes you think I can't, Erestor? If you don't like my decision, you'll simply have to get out, then." The crowd became silent at this, half angry and half frightened.<p>

"Finally, the Gap of Rohan!" said Gandalf, as he saw the green fields of Rohan. The Fellowship, now including a few more elves, have marched through the hallways once again, past Lorien, down and down, until they finally reached the realm of Rohan. They were tired of hiding around from the orcs of Isengard,  
>and exhausted of their long journey.<br>"Well, they surely don't have any intention of taking us back home, Merry." said Pippin between gasps. His partner simply nodded, smiling sadly at the thought of the peaceful Shire. Aragorn sighed at the sight of the enormous fields, and said, "We shall need our horses rested back in healthy form to ride all across that." Gandalf smiled, and said, "That won't be a problem." pointing south, where a camp stood.  
>"That no doubt would be the Rohirrim, but still, be careful, in case they are enemies." They slowly trotted towards the camp, trying not to be seen, just in case, as Aragorn said.<p>

Some faithful but unwise decided to stay, but the others were to leave, to Lorien, Mirkwood, even with no destination, but nobody was allowed to sail West.  
>Upadion and the army were soon ready to fight, armed with axes. Durion decided to lead the war himself, for it was no use to pretend to be Elrond, the elves would've spread the word all over the Middle Earth by now.<br>"When do you intend to attack, my lord?" asked Upadion expectingly.  
>"Tonight. I shall lead the war myself. After sunset, we will march towards Edoras first, then chase Theoden."<br>"Chase Theoden? But he shall fall at Edoras!"  
>"No. By now, Gandalf and his company would have entered Rohan, to warn him. After passing Edoras, we go to Helm's deep, where we will meet Saruman's army. You'll persue them to join us, and Rohan shall eventually fall."<p>

"Strangers approaching!" shouted one of the guards as he saw them, and soon, a dozen of men came galloping towards them.  
>"What is your business, stranger?And who are you?" demanded one impolitely, and Gandalf answered, "I am Gandalf the Grey, and these are my friends,<br>and companions. We march for Edoras, but we need new horses, for we came a long way, starting from Rivendell." "Then you are welcome, Gandalf the grey. I am Eomer, and these are my men. We shall rent you our horses in pleasure. But, my friend, do not expect anything from Edoras, neither king Theoden. He is infected by one called Grima Wormtongue, and he doesn't even recognize his own son."  
>"That is why I am heading to Edoras. I and my elven companions could be able to cure him, Eomer. We have come to warn. There is a war coming. Not any war, but led by Durion, the spirit of the One ring, currently with the body of Elrond, lord of Rivendell." Eomer raised his eyebrow, and after some more conversation with Gandalf, he led the company to his camp.<p>

"These are your horses, the bravest and the fastest. Also, I brought you five ponies for your little friends." said Eomer, holding the reins of four horses and five ponies. Gimli cried, "Five? What for? I won't ride on a pony!"  
>"These horses are too big for you, master dwarf. You might fall."<br>"Then he can ride with me," announced Legolas, to Gimli's surprise. The dwarf didn't seem so happy about riding with an elf, but grunted in agreement.  
>After a simple meal of dried fish, which wasn't so delicious, the fellowship continued the journey, happy with their new healthy horses.<p>

"Look! Orcs! Already! But why are they heading north, instead of Rohan?" questioned Boromir, sighting a troop of orcs. But there was something queer about them.  
>"They are not just any orcs. They are Uruk-hais, and they are marching towards Imladris! The elves shall go insane!" said Elladan, his arrow already ready on his bowstring. Glorfindel stopped the angry elf, by holding his shoulder firmly and shaking his head. Elladan understood the reason why he couldn't revenge on the creatures directly, and that everybody was wanting to do the same thing but was enduring the temptation. "Tomorrow, we shall be able to arrive at Edoras, and then, we shall protect Rohan from Durion and Sauron both." announced Aragorn, as he caught a glimpse of the city. That night, when Elladan was on the watch, and the others were soundly sleeping, Arwen and Elrohir awoke to have a secret talk.<br>"Elladan!" whipered Arwen, as she walked carefully not to step on the sleeping figures. The oldest turned to see his sister and brother with a smile, and gestured to come besides him and sit.

"Finally, by tomorrow, we shall arrive at Rohan." said Elrohir sadly, for fighting against his father, even if he wasn't himself, was heart-ripping. Elladan hold his little brother's and sister's hands to comfort them, and whispered, "Everything shall be all right when this war ends, and atar will come back to himself when he sees us. Or maybe Gandalf, or grandmother could do something. I promise."


	11. Chapter 11

-The dark halfelven of Imladris-

Finally, it was early in the afternoon when they reached Edoras. The fellowship was welcomed by the guards, and then they were unarmed, except for Gandalf's staff. Boromir complained at this, not willing to give his sword, and so did Gimli and Aragorn. But they finally gave up, and after an hour of questions and searching, the company was finally allowed to meet the king of Rohan, Theoden. Once Glorfindel entered the hall, his jaw dropped at the look of the king. Theoden looked very old, his eyes were red, his hair and beard all white, and face pale, completely without color. Next to him stood an evil-looking man, glaring at the fellowship, whispering to his king.  
>"It is a shame to see you like this, Wormtongue. You have become more wicked than ever, and a servant of Saruman, the traitor. If you stop saying the infected words of yours, you may get mercy." said Gandalf loudly, sharing angry glances with the man. Wormtongue snorted, and hissed, "Gandalf Greyhame,<br>what makes you think that the one who gives mercy would be you?" and whispered to the king, "Do not trust a word from them, your highness. They say they have come to help you, but it is the truth that they came to destroy your realm."

Gandalf had enough. He took up his hidden staff, pushed Wormtongue away, stepping towards the poor king, shouting spells. The elves helped Gandalf,  
>whispering in elvish to kick the evil soul off Theoden. It took some time to get the king back to himself, but things worked pretty well. Grima Wormtongue was kicked out, the guards didn't dare to stop them, and Theoden was back to his fierce mind once again.<br>"My king!" cried a woman, popping out from a room with another woman. The woman burst in tears as she ran across the hall and hug the king.  
>"Eowyn," Theoden said, touching the beautiful face of one woman. Eowyn was the lady of Rohan, with a shiny blond hair. The woman behind her was Isa,<br>a servant of the lady. Isa was dressed in a simple brown dress. Her hair was bright red, her eyes were between green and blue. This sudden appearance of the women confused the others, but Arwen was happy to see her friend at the darkest times.

After the meeting ended, Gandalf came back to his point. He told the whole story to the king and some other men of Rohan, and counselled him to fight.  
>Some minutes later, Theoden announced his decision, "We shall go to Helm's Deep, with every people in Edoras with us. There maybe we would be able to make more time." Gandalf nodded at the decision, "It is not a very pleasant decision, but in this situation, Helm's deep may be the best choice." So the folk of Edoras were packing up for the journey, afraid about the idea of having a war against a deadly army. When everyone was ready for the journey to Helm's deep, Theoden and the heads of the people of Rohan finally ordered to part, leading the people.<p>

Upadion's army was prepared, willing to fight, but confused. Even as they marched along with their new leader, they weren't too sure of Durion, who had the form of an elf. "Why should we listen to an elf?" cried one. The others agreed, and posed the same question to the spirit. Durion smiled, and said loudly, "I have been expecting these types of problems, my friends. But I am Durion, the spirit of the one ring, once a partner of your former master, Sauron."  
>The crowd was silenced as Durion spoke the name aloud. "But I had enough of his unwise plans, and decided to become a master myself. I was searching for someone with power and deep in our enemies, when I saw Elrond Peredhil, the founder of Rivendell, and an enemy for a lifetime. His age and weariness allowed me to enter his mind, and soon, I was able to control this elf. I shall conquer this whole world, and soon find a new body, more friendly to you. But to do this, my friends, I need you. Of course, you shall all be rewarded greatly, but those who disagrees shall regret the rest of their lives."<p>

Durion's army, now very convinced of their leader, marched proudly until Durion caught the sight of the folk of Rohan. The orcs wanted to attack them and massacre them, but Durion stopped them, saying, "It is an unwise thing to attack them when they have place to run. But I shall give them a warning."  
>The evil leader chose about forty orcs, dozens of trolls, and he put his hood on, following them. The small army carefully approached towards the humans,<br>until Durion's arrow struck directly at one of Theoden's guards, and the orcs attacked.

"Orcs!" screamed Isa, as the dead guard fell at her feet. Theoden called her and lady Eowyn, saying, "Eowyn! Isa! Take the women and children to safety!"  
>The lady and her servant led the women and children quickly to the forest nearby, where they hid themselves from the disgusting creatures. "Master!"<br>shouted an orc as it saw the flight led by the lady. Durion saw it too, but merely said, "Let them go. Do not waste your strength. The true battle shall take place later, when we shall be able to burn them all with fire." The ring-spirit was going back to battle, when Boromir stuck his sword directly through its chest. The hood was revealed as he fell, and Boromir's eyes widened by surprise. The elf muttered a few curses in pain, grabbing his wound. But by everybody's surprise who was there, the wound healed itself, taking every drop of blood back into the body.

After a while of fierce fighting, Durion decided they fought enough, and shouted, "Go back! Retreat!" and the orcs followed his order. He strung an arrow to his bow, and aimed it carefully at Arwen. The arrow flew loose out of the bow, directly to Arwen. 


	12. Chapter 12

-The dark halfelven lord of Imladris-

The arrow swiftly flew across the battlefield, approaching Arwen. It struck at her back, making her fall on the blood-stained bodies. The others saw her with their jaws dropped, and quickly ran to the unconscious elf. As Durion saw this scene, Elrond came out again by horror, shouting, "NO! What have I done?" He wanted to run to his beloved daughter, and hug her, but was afraid that Durion will come out again, and stared at the scene, tears falling from his eyes. Even as Elrond wanted to save Arwen from this filthy spirit, he couldn't resist approaching towards his daughter. The others stared at the shooter, as he came nearer and nearer. "Stop!" shouted Aragorn, aiming his sword to his foster father, "Don't dare hurt Arwen again!" Tears slowly fell from his eyes, too, as he glared at Elrond angrily.

"Master!" Aragorn and Elrond was interrupted by the joyful shout of Upadion. Elrond turned to see the hooded warrior laughing, and on the ground, the bodies of innocent men. He fell to his knees, crying in despair. Upadion sensed that Elrond was back again, the smile fading from his face. Gandalf, Aragorn,  
>the elves, the hobbits and the rest sensed it too, watching the elf with pity.<br>"I need to stop this." and Elrond held out a knife. "I need to destroy the spirit when it's still available."  
>"Father! Don't do this! There may be another solution!" cried the twins, but were ignored. Elrond was about to kill himself when Upadion kicked him in the ribs, hissing, "Go away, you foolish elf, and bring back our master!" The elven lord lay on the ground, gasping, until he slowly opened his eyes, and it wasn't Elrond they saw in his eyes. it was Durion, and he was back again.<p>

Durion slowly stood up from the bloody soil, turning to face Aragorn. The ranger held his sword firmly, glancing at him nervously. The evil spirit smiled at him, turned way, and left them. Now everyone's attention came back to Arwen again, who regained consciouseness, bleeding and moaning.  
>"O Arwen..." cried Elrohir, hugging his little sister tight. Now everybody was trying to heal her with the skills of their people, men, elves, dwarves,even hobbits. "We have to continue. The people are frightened to death, the lady would be better in a warm bed, and we don't have enough time for this. The orcs have managed to catch with us." said Theoden in a clear voice, and the journey started again, just before Glorfindel realized Gandalf missing. Just then,<br>a soldier came to report something to his king. He whispered some words to the king, and Theoden gestured him to tell the others.  
>"Well, sir... There was this wizard with a grey beard and a pointy hat fighting with a troll, but then, another troll hit him, throwing him off the cliffs." said the nervous-looking soldier, fearing if they would punish him for not helping the wizard. Theoden sensed it, and gestured him again, softly this time, to not be stressed, and to leave.<br>"This is what we could do. The loss of Gandalf is indeed very sad, but this cannot help. Haldir and Boromir, you go around near Helm's deep to some other villages and scout as many men you can. But don't go any far than a day long. And for us, we march straight to Helm's deep and endure as long as we can, until you bring some force." said Glorfindel, and the others agreed.

"We may arrive at Helm's deep faster and give the men a surprise, my lord." advised Upadion, his eyes shining by the willing to kill. But the dark lord shook his head, saying, "No, we should give them time to arrive at their destination. If we do as you say, we might get surrounded. Remember, they are the one who has the good men. We might have twenty thousand orcs and two thousand trolls, and they no more than one thousand men, but of course, men are better warriors than these foul orcs." "But..my lord, weren't you planning to befriend the orcs and use them?"  
>"I will use them this time, but as soon as I get the chance to scout some men, dwarves, or even some elves, I will get rid of the whole species. They will become very annoying once they know I'll betray them soon."<p>

The women and children were already waiting for them when the weary men arrived at Helm's deep. Eowyn and Isa rushed out of the immense fortress as they saw the king leading his exhausted men, and those who were wounded.  
>"The lady needs healing! She was shot by a type of arrow I've never seen, neither heard before, though I do not think it contained poison." said Legolas,<br>showing Arwen to the healers of Rohan. The wounded, including Arwen were sent quickly inside the castle, and the others were to have some rest also.  
>Gimli sighed as he saw the high walls of the fortress, for when the battle will start, he wouldn't be tall enough to watch what's going on outside.<br>"They will be here by nightfall." said Glorfindel, counting the men they had, and exclaimed, "Alas! How come there are so little of men?"  
>"We lost many men at the last attack." said Theoden, making a deep sigh. The king thought for a moment, and continued, "The women and children will stay safely in the caves, and every men available should fight, even the young and the old." So as the king said, the women and children led by Eowyn and Isa hid in the caves, and every men, including 14 years old boys and very old men.<p>

Durion could catch a small glimpse of Helm's deep as the orcs marched slowly towards the gigantic fortress. He sensed Upadion approaching him, and turned around to see the elven warrior. Upadion hesitated for a moment, and said carefully, "My lord, I don't know I should say this or not, but this elf Elrond has tried to kill you. You should do something about it. If the same thing happens and if he keeps appearing, you shall lose the orcs' trust. These orcs cannot understand these things, my lord." "You are right, Upadion. I cannot let him come back. But do not worry, my strength is coming back, and when it does, killing him won't be a difficulty."  
>The warrior nodded, bowed, and again, left Durion alone. The ring spirit smiled at the fortress, thinking of the people inside it, and suddenly he felt a tear falling, and frowned, for he did not intend it, nor he was in the mood of crying. Then he realized, the tear was not his. It was Elrond's, and he still had the power to control his body. <p>


	13. Chapter 13

-The dark halfelven of Imladris-

"An army approaching!" shouted one of the guards, pointing at an army of about two thousnad marching swiftly towards Helm's deep. As the mysterious army came nearer, they could hear a clear sound of horn blowing. Glorfindel and the twins smiled delightfully, and Aragorn exclaimed, "This is no orc horn.  
>It is the elves!" The elvish army entered the fortress, welcomed by the people of Rohan staring at them, and king Theoden. Erestor, the leader of the army and advisor of Elrond, bowed politely, and said, "We have come to aid you, Theoden king. The alliance lost of men and elves has begun again." "Erestor!" exclaimed Glorfindel, as he greeted his colleague, and said, "I am very sorry, mellon nin, to leave you in Imladris when you had no idea what was happening. But I had to flee, for Durion, the spirit of the ring of power was attacking at us."<br>"I still cannot understand this, Glorfindel. But when I knew it wasn't Elrond I was talking to, I led the elves of Imladris to Lothlorien, where I recieved the orders of lord Celeborn and lady Galadriel to aid Rohan. So, I directly led the army to Edoras, when I saw it empty, and judged that you shall be here, at Helm's deep."

"An army of elves have entered Helm's deep, led by Erestor, my lord." reported Upadion, a faint hint of anger in his voice as he said the name 'Erestor'.  
>"But there is a far more good news, too. My elvish friends have kidnapped Thranduil, and brought them here! My lord, we have Thranduil in our hands!<br>The elves will despair when they realize this!" Upadion didn't realize the change of his master. The elf he was talking to was Elrond, not Durion. Elrond despaired, as Upadion said. He wanted to rescue Thranduil form these evil elves, and get out of all this, but the truth was that he ws surrounded by orcs.  
>"Won't you go to see him, my lord?"<br>"Of course, Upadion." Elrond sighed, and walked through the orcs. As he approached the captive surrounded by the laughing orcs, he saw his old friend,  
>lord of Mirkwood, struggling between orcs and an elf with a whip. Thranduil laughed, and said, "I heard of you from the elves of Rivendell, Durion. How dare you enter Elrond's fair body! You shall fall, and Elrond will eliminate you!"<br>"I have already fallen, Thranduil. Upadion, give us some privacy for a moment." Upadion and the elves bowed, dismissed the orcs, and left the elven lords.  
>Thranduil was full of bruises, scratches, signs of torture, and was covered with blood. Elrond sat next to him, enduring the hateful glares of his friend.<br>"Thranduil, it's me! I...I don't know what's hppening! I somehow passed off the spirit, and woke up in the middle of Rohan, with you kidnapped." Thranduil looked at him in disbelief, saw the truth and innocence of Elrond's eyes, and whispered, "Elrond! It's you again!" grasping his hands.

"How's the lady?" questioned Glorfindel and Aragorn, and sighed with relief as the healers responded that she was fine. They entered the room silently,  
>not to wake up Arwen, who was sleeping soundly. Glorfindel smiled softly, and said,"She's all right. Thank Elbereth! I was worried to death!"<br>Aragorn smiled as a response, touching Arwen's forehead with care. The elleth's eyes switched slightly as she felt the warm hand of the ranger on her forehead. "My lady!" exclaimed Erestor, as he saw Arwen, stopped, realizing the noise he had made, and silenced himself. "What happened to her?" "She was shot by Durion, when the orcs attacked us on the way coming here." explained Elrohir, who was sitting on the wooden chair next to the bed.  
>"And then, something queer happened, Erestor. It seemed as our father was back, and he tried to kill himself to kill the ring, too, until Upadion stopped him by kicking him on the ribs." continued Elladan.<br>"Poor lord Elrond, he must have gone mad of the stress of shooting his own daughter, and turning against everyone who are his friends." whispered Legolas,  
>sighing.<p>

Meanwhile, the hobbits and Gimli were trying to find something to step on, so when the battle starts, they will be able to see what's happening.  
>"Look what I found! A box of apples! We won't be hungry during the war." exclaimed Pippin, as he held the heavy wooden box, fitting it next to the wall.<br>"Nay, Pip. The wall's still too high, even with your box. But as you say, we won't be hungry." said Merry taking out a small apple out of his companion's box.  
>"Hobbits." grunted Gimli, not very happy about his situation, but he, too, took an apple out of the box, followed by Frodo and Sam. Pippin glanced angrily as they took his apples until there wasn't anything left, but a couple of little green ones.<br>"Stop! You're eating all of them! I didn't even taste one!" The hobbits apologized amusedly, and Gimli returned one to the poor hungry hobbit.  
>"Hold on, what's that sound?" shouted Gimli as he heard drums, and footsteps. Orcs. They were here.<p>

Frodo and Sam ran to Arwen's room to report that the enemy was at sight, and said, "The orcs are already here! The army is enormous; there may be about twenty thousand of them!"  
>"Twenty thousand!" whispered Erestor desperately.<br>"Do not lose hope, friends. There still is Haldir and Boromir, who is recruiting men, outside Helm's deep. They should have seen the orcs, and will be coming soon." said Elladan, putting his hands on both Erestor and Glorfindel's shoulder, and Elrohir agreed, "Dan's right. Anyways, what other choice do we have?"  
>Aragorn and the elves nodded, and the ranger said, "We'll need someone to look after Arwen. Something might happen to her while every men is away.<br>What if the orcs find the way to here?"  
>"Leave that to me, my dear lords." said a voice behind them. It was Isa the servant of Eowyn, wearing a light armor and armed with a sword.<br>"Lady Eowyn ordered to me that I shall protect lady Arwen, when she will take care of the frightened women and children."

Gimli ran up the stairs, pushing everyone apart who was standing on his way. Finally, he reached the chamber where Theoden and the other leaders of the Rohirrim discussed about a solution.  
>"Master Gimli! What brings you here? It should have been a hard way for you to come up all these stairs. Even for me, they were too long." welcomed the king, as he saw the dwarf.<br>"It's the orcs, my king! They have already reached here!" cried Gimli, leaning on the wall, exhausted. The king sighed, and said, "So the time has came, when the future of Rohan shall be decided. My lords, please command your troops to prepare."

"When do you want us to attack, master?" demanded an orc leader, and Elrond responded, "Wait. Wait until they attack first." The orc grunted, and went back to his troops. Upadion came next, asking, "And of Thranduil, my lord. What shall we do to him? Shall I order to send a message to the elves?"  
>"Wait until my command. We may be able to use him in a better use, than having him as a hostage." After everyone left him in peace, he sighed, for it was very distressing to get questions from creatures he hated, and to give them an answer without earning suspicion. He thought of suicide, but it was a foolish thing to do, espeacially when he was disturbed by his enemies every minute. Also, he had to stop this folly. Even if their commander was gone,<br>the orcs would still attack, and more fiercely because of the anger they were fooled. Lastly, he couldn't deny, that deep inside, he was a coward, he didn't want to die. He feared death, more than anyone. 


	14. Chapter 14

-The dark halfelven of Imladris-

Gandalf lay hopelessly on the cold floor, every part of his body aching. I shouldn't be alive, he thought. Yes, that's it. I'm dead. But why do I feel my body?  
>He guessed that he miraculously survived the fall, and opened his eyes slowly. The bright sunlight pierced his eyes, until it was covered by a head. The wizard frowned, wondering to whom the head belonged to. Then he passed out.<br>It seemed as a day has passed since he saw the mysterious head, and now he was fully awake, finally getting up to see where he was. A beautiful lady was looking at him. The lady wasn't an elf, but neither a human. She was wearing a glimming white dress, matching well with her black hair and blue eyes.  
>"Who are you?"<br>"I am Nelinei, and this place is the forgotten palace of the maias. You are healing fast, lord Gandalf. Now sleep again, and you shall be taken where you will find help." Her voice sang like a lullaby, and before Gandalf could take a look at the place he was laid, he was asleep.

As the orcs reached the fortress, the elven and human archers readied their arrows on the bowstring, waiting for their leaders' orders. "Shall I order to shoot, my lord?" asked an esquire of Rohan, and recieved Theoden's shaking head. But before he could turn back to the Rohirrim, an arrow was shot, killing an orc with is sharp arrowhead. Everyone was silent, and soon the orcs, roaring of rage, began the attack. Ropes, ladders, climbers came from everywhere, and arrows flew across the air like rain. Orcs began to enter the fortress, making Gimli happy.  
>"Yes! Come on, you foul creatures! Come to me and meet my hard axe!"<br>"Easy, Gimli. Save your strength, for the battle shall continue until daylight." said Legolas, as he released another arrow. It seemed as that they had the possibility to win, until a different horn was blown loudly. Everyone turned to see the Uruk-hais of Saruman, every one of them painted the white hand of Saruman on their armors.  
>"What are you doing here?" asked the leader uruk-hai, as he saw what was going on. His sight was covered by Durion who was back, Upadion, and a few elves.<br>"Elves! What is going on here?"  
>"We are no ordinary elves. This is lord Durion, our master. He was once the partner of Sauron, but he decided that there was no use fighting for him, when he had the power to conquer the world himself. The orcs have made a wise choice to follow him, and I counsel you to make the same choice." said Upadion,<br>stepping out from the crowd of the hooded elves.  
>"I won't be fooled by some elves until you have proof!" Durion smiled at this, and closed his eyes to concentrate. Soon, he was burning with fire, but he wasn't harmed.<br>"I can show you more if you want to waste time, master uruk-hai."  
>"Good. Then the uruk-hais of Isengard shall follow to your service from this moment."<p>

Again, Gandalf was awake in a mysterious place, but the ceiling was familiar, not some ceiling of a forgotten palace. It was a tent. He frowned slightly, hoping that he will find help here, as Nelinei said. An armored man entered the tent, checked that the wizard was awake, and came back with a familiar man.  
>"Are you all right, lord Gandalf?" said the man, and Gandalf could finally remember the man. It was Eomer, the brother of Eowyn.<br>"Eomer! How can I be here, with you? How did you find me?"  
>"You were laid unconcious next to a lake, when one of my men found you, and recognized you."<br>"Eomer, you need to ride to Helm's deep right now, and help your king and kin. They are attacked by orcs and soon will be attacked by uruk-hais."  
>"What?"<br>"Eomer, it is an emergency!"  
>"All right. As soon as you recover enough for the journey, we shall ride back to Rohan."<p>

"The uruk-hai!" cried Erestor in disbelief, as he knocked out an orc with his sword. Elladan stared at the huge army of the uruk-hai approaching, his jaw dropped. The men were all fighting fearlessly, to save their family, their king, and themselves, but still, the enemy was ten times larger, and it seemed as victory was impossible, until some help came. And it did.  
>"Haldir! Boromir!" exclaimed Aragorn merrily, when he saw an army of men galloping with their swords drawn. The orcs turned to fight their new enemy,<br>and hope was back in the men's minds. Meanwhile, the hobbits were watching the fight from a tower, throwing stones. They were angry of themselves hiding in a tower, but they couldn't help behind he walls. So they decided to throw stones to help, even if it wasn't great help.  
>"Look! A troll! Pip, aim for it!" called Merry, as he threw a sharp-edged stone to an uruk-hai's head. Merry held out a big stone, and with all his force, threw it to the troll, which was knocked out. The hobbits didn't notice Theoden behind them, who was smiling. Frodo sensed the king first, and turned.<br>"My lord! What are you doing here?"  
>"Nothing, master hobbit. I was on my way looking for a sword, for I lost mine. Do not worry about me." The hobbit nodded, and went back into throwing stones. A courageous folk, Theoden thought. He was surprised to see them trying to help, even if they could not ride across the battlefield, knocking out orcs with their long blades.<p>

"How is it going?" asked the spirit, as he saw Upadion stepping towards him. The elf-warrior sighed, and said, "It is not as easy as I thought, my lord. The men are fighting fiercely, and help came from the other villages."  
>"Then it is time for me to go, to teach these foolish peasants a lesson." Upadion smiled, and led his master into the battlefield. Durion walked across the army, until he finally reached the walls of Helm's deep. Glorfindel found the spirit among the orcs, reached for an arrow, but found none. He used all of them.<br>"Legolas! Stop him!" The elf nodded, turned to aim the evil spirit, and released an arrow. Durion stopped the arrow by catching it, and continued his spell.  
>Legolas's other attacks was stopped similarily, and could not stop Durion. Suddenly, a deadly sound came from nowhere, making the men covering their ears. The sound was worse than the Nazguls', piercing their ears like a needle. "Help me! Please! Aaaargh!" cried a young boy, blood pouring out from his ears. Elrohir rushed to the boy, covered his ears full of blood with his elven cloak, and calmed him. Soon, the sound ended, and suddenly the men felt exhausted, as if they had been fighting for weeks. Between the gasps of the others, Gimli could see the evil smile of Durion.<p>

Gandalf stopped his horse as the Rohirrim reached a small pool of clear water. They had been riding for days non-stop, one more day left until Helm's deep.  
>"I hope they are still alive." muttered Eomer, as he filled his empty bottle with cold water. "They are alive, Eomer. Theoden is a strong king, and my companions are the best warriors of their kin. They will make it until we help reach them."<br>Eomer nodded, and soon, they galloped again across the endless fields.

"Isa? Is that you?" asked Arwen, as she slowly opened her eyes. The servant smiled softly, and replied, "Yes, my lady. It's me. You will be fine." "What is happening out there? I heard desperate cries in my sleep." "The orcs have attacked, my lady. But we are making it. More help will come when the news spreads, and we shall win, my lady." The elf was comforted,  
>and after a while, her strength returned, and she could get out of bed. Arwen looked out the window, saw the dead bodies, and sighed sadly.<br>"So many have lost their lives, Isa. I see young boys' inoocent, frightened dead faces... And I was sleeping in this room..."  
>"My lady, it is not your fault that they are dead. It is their destiny, to die a hero. Please do not be angry at youself."<br>"And you? Don't you feel angry of staying here when even these youngsters die?"  
>"...I ... Yes, my lady you are right. I do feel angry."<br>"Then let's fight, Isa. Let's go into the caves and let Eowyn join us, we will arm ourselves with sharp blades and swift arrows, and let's fight to help our men, and for the souls of the dead." Isa hesitated for a while, and nodded her head silently. The ladies ran across the empty hall, and into the caves where Eowyn was staying.

Theoden lay on the blood-stained floor, feeling the dark magic of the ring. His ears were still hot, not healed from the pain. He slowly raised his head, and saw a dark figure upon him.  
>"Who are you?" groaned the king, trying to see the face of the figure looking at him. The mysterious figure sat on the floor revealing his face. It was Elrond.<br>"You!" The elf shook his head, tears falling from his grey eyes, wise and fair once more. Elrond touched the aggressive king's red ears, muttered some elvish, and Theoden was healed. "Elrond... I'm sorry. But this is not your fault. It's not that you're weak, too. It's your weariness that let the spirit in. Soon, you will overpower this spirit, and everything will be fine. Do not lose hope, Elrond, for you are our only hope yourself. Remember, all Middle earth trusts you, and soon you shall gain victory."  
>The king paused, thought a while of what he just said, and added, "Nay, it's not my part to tell you this. Do not listen to me." Silence fell on them for a while, until Elrond suddenly said, "Yes, that's it! Theoden, summon your men right away. This is an emergency!"<br>"It's... it's the elf!" shouted the men as they saw their king talking to the elf they thought was an enemy. But then, they were what was actually going on,  
>and Elrond announced his plan, "Now, my friends. You should bind my hands and legs, and cover my mouth, for Durion might conjure his dark magic.<br>But still, the orcs will trouble you even when Durion shall be taken. That is your job."

Meanwhile, the elf warriors of Lorien and the other men including Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Glorfindel, Erestor, and the twins were struggling with the endless army of orcs, using their both hands. But even so, these creatures didn't seem to just end. If they killed one, two appeared, and if they killed a dozen, a troll appeared.  
>"We can't fight like this forever, Aragorn! There are still thousands of them left, and we only have about one thousand now." shouted Legolas, swinging his knives through the orcs' throats.<br>"Legolas's right. We cannot stay here any more longer. The men are exhausted. We should retreat for a while!" followed Erestor.  
>"But then, who will defend the fortress? Are there any more men to replace us?"<br>"We can." said a voice beind them. The warriors turned to see Arwen, Eowyn, Isa, and the shieldmaidens of Rohan, all wearing armors and armed with bows and swords.  
>"I am fully healed, and these shieldmaidens have no family to worry about, but their king. They will fight until their last breath, my lords. You can trust us.<br>Battle is not only for men, but for every people who are able to fight."  
>"But lady Arwen-" protested Glorfindel, interrupted by Arwen, who spoke again.<br>"I know that you cannot let me do this, Glor. But this is an exception. The shieldmaiden are strong and as skilled as your warriors, and even if atar knew,  
>he would let me do this in this case, for he will agree that this is necessary, and the wisest thing to do in my situation." <p>


	15. Chapter 15

-The dark halfelven of Imladris-

Gandalf was trotting on his horse thoughtlessly when Eomer talked to him. "There is something I realized since we found you, Gandalf."  
>"What is it?"<br>"It's that... you are a bit different. When I last met you, in the fields, well... you were gray. But now, you are white, and you look more wise, like mithrandir."  
>"Mithrandir? What makes you think like that, Eomer?" laughed Gandalf.<br>"I am serious! Look!" Eomer gave him a small mirror, and Gandalf's eyes widened. Whom he saw on the mirror wasn't him, Gandalf the grey. The wizard he saw had white hair, a white beard, and his eyes were deeper. Then he understood it. Why he was sent to the forgotten palace, why he was taken care by Nelinei, and why he was sent back. He was mithrandir, Gandalf the white.

The shieldmaidens and rohirrim who still had enough strength to fight, led by both the ladies Eowyn and Arwen galloped across the field of orcs and dead bodies. Upadion killed everyone who came upon him, until he faced Eowyn and stopped. He smirked at the armed lady, saying, "You are so foolish to encourage your men, lady Eowyn. Do you think that you will win? Why don't you just surrender, so that you and your people's lives would be spared?"  
>"Never! I shall not let Rohan fall, not until I am still alive!"<br>"Then you will die!" Upadion ran swiftly to the woman, his sword aiming for her throat. To his surprise, Eowyn disappeared from his sight within a blink of his eyes, and now she was attacking him from his back. The elf held out his sword as he turned back, and the swords met together, making a sharp clinging noise. Upadion glared at his opponent for a moment, and made a surprisingly fast attack that was stopped again by the shieldmaiden.  
>"You-"<br>"Never underestimate a shieldmaiden of Rohan, destructor of peace! You shall be cursed by the kings and the great Rohirrim mercilessly!" "I do not need mercy from men, both alive and dead! Your kingdom is ready to fall, and the tombs of your kings shall be burned by the orcs, with the golden hall at Edoras!" Eowyn slashed her sword at the elf's shoulder with greeted teeth, and she succeeded. "You dare wound a server of the master ring, shieldmaiden!" he managed out the words and curses between the hot pain from his shoulder. Blood poured out of the wound. Enduring the great pain Upadion turned away, and fled.

"You have brought victory, ladies! Though... it was just another small battle. Thousands are still dwelling outside the walls. But still, you have done a great job!" exclaimed Gimli, clapping his hands as the shieldmaiden returned from the battle.  
>"You are good." said Boromir with a very straight face, and continued, "But where is Theoden-king?" Then everyone realized that Theoden, Gamling and their men wasn't seen for a while.<br>"Yes, where is he when he is needed in the battlefield?" agreed Legolas, stepping forward.  
>"Doing something that will discourage the enemy." said Theoden sadly, suddenly popping out with his men. Behind him they could see Elrond, his hands tied, and being almost dragged by the soldiers.<br>"You- you caught him? How?" questioned Frodo, who suddenly popped with the other hobbits as well.  
>"We didn't actually catch him, but Elrond gave up himself to stop him." Arwen stared at his father in disbelief, rushed to him, and hugged him.<br>"How can you do this, father? How can you give up yourself just because of some stupid spirit?"  
>"He is not giving up his life, Arwen. He will be free again from the ring soon." comforted Aragorn. Elrond looked at them absent-mindedly, sighed, and said, "Actually I am giving up, Estel. I do not see any chance to stop him but holding him forever in the dungeons, and when the time comes, kill him."<br>Both the elves', men's, and hobbits' jaw dropped at this. How could he do that so cooly? "But this is a secondary problem. Durion shall be kept prisoned by these men, and you shall be safe from his magic. The problem is, what to do about those orcs." continued Elrond. They all agreed with him and changed the subject, but a part of their minds still thinking about Elrond.

"Where is our master, elf?" demanded the orcs, as they saw Upadion, wounded, returning. Upadion glared at them with disgust, and answered, "How can I know? Were you not the ones who were staying here, watching when I was fighting? And also, let me remind you that I am your secondary master, orcs."  
>"You? Our master? Who are you to decide whether you are our master or not? We choose our masters, elf. And we only follow our masters, not some elves we don not know of." "But wasn't I the one who befriended you at the first place and led you to your master?"<br>"You was once our friend and master, but no more, elf. You are nothing more than a filthy elf to us now." Upadion stepped back as he sensed the anger of these orcs, until he was completely out of sight. "HA HAHA! That coward!" laughed an uruk-hai, raising his axe.  
>"Let's attack and kill all of the men! We have no masters until lord Durion comes back!"<br>"Yeah!"

Elrond was pushed into a cold cell, followed by a few guards, who started to chain his arms onto the wall, so that he couldn't move. His mouth was covered with thick cloth because Durion might conjure spells, and then he was left alone in the cell, treated like a dangerous criminal. But Elrond could not think why it was unfair to him, because he was a dangerous criminal, after all.  
>Later, Glorfindel entered the cell, shivering at the cold temperature. He looked at Elrond with sad eyes, made eye-contact, checked that he wasn't Durion,<br>and pulled the cloth, letting him speak.  
>"Call the guards."<br>"What? Elrond, what do you mean?"  
>"Just call them, mellon nin! I cannot stand like this anymore!"<br>"A very appreciated decision, Elrond! Yes, you should be freed! You did not deserve this! Guards!" The guards entered the cell too, and glared at Elrond,  
>for they thought it was who led the orcs, and did not understand the situation completely.<br>"Tell them to knock me out."  
>"What? Elrond! No! Never I shall order such a thing!"<br>"Please! I cannot do this anymore! The ring is torturing me! Please, Glorfindel, tell them to knock me out!" pleaded Elrond. Glorfindel stared at him sadly,  
>turned his gaze to the guards, and said, "Guards, just.. Just do as you want!" and rushed out of the cell. The guards looked at each other, utterly confused,<br>and smiled, realizing what Glorfindel meant.

"Sir, an orc is approaching the wall! Shall I order to kill him?" asked a guard, as he saw the orc walking merrily towards the fortress. Aragorn shook his head, and shouted, "Orc! What do you want?"  
>"I wanted to show you someone, human! Take him out, boys!" A few other orcs appeared with someone blindfolded, and Legolas gasped.<br>"Father!"  
>"Lord Thranduil! This cannot be happening! After lord Elrond being taken, now lord Thranduil is held in their foul hands!" exclaimed Erestor, placing a hand on Legolas's shoulder. Legolas stared at his tortured father, his jaw dropped. He couldn't believe that the great king of Mirkwood and his father was taken by some orcs!<br>"Ha! Surprised? If you let go our master, maybe we'll consider about saving his life, but if you don't, the elf's life shall be taken, and his head will be hanged on the top of my axe!" growled the creature, slapping the king's blindfolded face. Thranduil struggled, gasped, and said, "Legolas, it that you? Legolas?"  
>"Atar, are you all right? Oh no... By the name of the Valar, how is this possible? O father..." Aragorn sighed deeply, and said, "Anyway, your 'master'?<br>When did you orcs had a real 'master' you are royal to? Why are you trying to free Durion?" The orc thought for a moment, asking the same question to himself. He finally found a reasonable answer, and replied, "Master promised us a price, fool. He promised us our world, where we shall be kings and treated like gods, not like some beasts!" The dunedain turned to his companions, whispering, "It's the ring. Orcs normally never listens to the lies about prices, except when Sauron treated them with the ring, and Saruman with wizardry."  
>"It is simple, I can easily see what will become of these orcs." said Boromir with a low voice, glancing at the orc. Haldir was the one who spoke out loud enough for the orc to hear. "Your 'master' is lying! Don't you see, fools? You know these are dishonest lies, meaning nothing but to use you as tools and when he's done, he will turn against you!" The enemy hesitated, suddenly realizing the true meaning of the promise, and getting free from the dark spells of Durion.<p>

"Murderer." spat a guard, glaring at the chained elf. Elrond was surrounded by three angry guards, all willing to beat him to death. Glorfindel, Arwen, and the twins were waiting thoughtlessly and sadly, sitting on a long bench outside the dark cell. Elrond could hear the heavy sighs of his children and friend clearly, and he himself sighed, though silently for the guards to not notice it.  
>"This is for my brother, Odien!" cried a guard, kicking the poor elf on the ribs. Elrond let a painful moan, as the heavy boot touched his body.<br>"Nicely done, Odil. He quite deserved it, wicked elf." said an other guard, comforting his trembling friend. Odil nodded, calmed himself, and punched the elf's face, making it bleeding. Elladan grasped his sister's hand tightly as he heard his father's moans, and rushed into the cell, ignoring Glorfindel's comments.  
>"Stop!" cried Elladan, kicking the door open. The guards stared at him, surprised at his sudden appearance, and his great anger.<br>"We told you to just make him unconscious, not to torture him!"  
>"We are trying, my lord. But the elf is strong, others would have been already unconscious by now. He just wouldn't faint."<br>"You are pathetic! You cannot even do this right! You are filled with anger, and personal feelings! Don't you understand? He's not the one!"  
>"My lord! I do not deny my anger, but it is you who is losing his temper. We understand you, but you have gone too far!" "Yes, you are right, Perius. I have gone too far, losing my temper. But please, do not cause more pain to my father. He already had too much, and he is trying to get out of it!" Elladan calmed himself, and fell down on the wooden chair behind him, covering his head with his hands. He froze on the chair absent-mindedly for while, then made a decision, announcing it, "I think I'll better do it. Atar, would you be all right?" Elrond merely nodded, and his son held out an axe, holding it upside down, aiming his head with the end of the wooden part.<br>"Please forgive me, atar!" The younger elf striked hard with the axe on his father's head, and Elrond was soon unconscious, his head bowed.

The orc was silent, not able to find something to say. Haldir seemed to be right, but it was unbearable to admit it, that they were so easily tricked.  
>"Then we shall kill this elf, if your words are true. Why should we keep him alive, if we do not have any use of him?" They were all silent at this question,<br>thinking of a good response. Nobody moved, thinking, until Thranduil made his sudden move. The elven king ran towards the wall, pushing the orc away,  
>who tried to stop him. The orc shot arrows at the runaway, but fortunately, Thranduil was fast, and dodged all of the arrows. He reached the door, slowly opening by the guards. "Hurry!" cried the elf, and he was almost inside, when an arrow from Upadion, who was hiding in the woods next to the battlefield struck at Thranduil's shoulder.<br>"Atar!" cried Legolas desperately, as he reached for his wounded father, helping him to a room where the healers were waiting. Thranduil was soon in the hands of the healers, who were not the finest like Elrond, but did the best they could. "Is he going to be okay?" asked the son, received a relieving answer, and sat down, calming himself. They were soon allowed to enter the room Thranduil was staying, and entered the room with worried minds.  
>"How do you feel, lord Thranduil?" asked Haldir politely, as he bowed to the king.<br>"My shoulder still hurts a little, but otherwise, I'm fine, Haldir." Legolas approached his father with wet and worried eyes, took his father's hands with his warm ones, and whispered, "It is my fault, atar. I should have never left you alone, or at least I could command for better protection. I'm so sorry." Thranduil stared at his son with surprised eyes and said, "No, Legolas. It is nobody's fault. Do not even blame the orcs, for they only followed their hir's orders." Legolas guessed Thranduil was right, but still, he couldn't think but blame himself for his father's pain.  
>"But-" The younger elf's words were interrupted by Aragorn. "The king is right, Legolas. Do not blame anyone for this. Anyway, he'll be okay." comforted Gimli, putting a hand on the elf's shoulder, though it was a bit hard to reach for him.<br>"Thank you, Gimli." answered Legolas, a bit surprised by the dwarf's friendly behaviour, rather than the grumpy complaints Gimli usually said.

"Atar? Are you all right? Do you feel painful?" asked Arwen worriedly as her father opened his eyes, letting a groan out. Elrond smiled, and shook his head, but it was clear on his face that he was in great pain.  
>"I think he is in pain, little sister. Glorfindel, could you get him some water and something to eat?" said Elrohir, turning to the golden-haired warrior.<br>"Of course, Elrohir." replied Glorfindel, already pushing the heavy wooden door open. Soon, he was gone into the caves, where all of the food and water was stored with the women and children.  
>"Father! You're finally awake!" exclaimed Elladan, as he woke up from his light sleep on the bench. He reached for Elrond's cold chained hands and touched them, his face darkening.<br>"They're... cold. Your hands are cold like ice, atar. You're dying!" "What? Dying? Why? What do you mean?" questioned the younger twin brother alarmingly, with already wet eyes.  
>"It's the spirit! It's killing him! If he does not get rid of it soon, I don't know what will become of atar." Arwen looked at her father with hot tears falling at her cheeks, and hugged him firmly, crying.<br>"No, you can't! There should be a way to get rid of this horrible ring!" Sad silence fell, and nobody spoke or moved but Arwen, who sniffed, trembling.  
>"I'm here! I was slowed by those angry guards, but look! The soup is still hot." exclaimed Glorfindel as he kicked the door open with a bowl of soup and water in his arms. Elrond was fed, while Elladan and Elrohir explained the information they discovered to Glorfindel.<br>"Arwen!" shouted Elrond, suddenly breaking his children's conversation. A great pain was attacking him, it felt like his brain was exploding, and as if his eyes were burning. The alarmed elves looked at their father, surprised, and suddenly found that they were facing Durion, not Elrond.

"What is this sound? It sounds like an army marching." questioned Sam, as he heard a thumping noise coming nearer.  
>"Oh no, not those orcs again!" moaned Pippin, sighing. Theoden looked out the window, smiled, and shouted, "It's Eomer! The rohirrim is here!" Thousands of horsemen galloped across the field, all drawing their swords, willing to fight and kill the orcs who took the lives of their people. The orcs, surprised by the sudden appearance of their new enemy, all turned to recieve the swords suddenly slashing, and horses galloping swiftly across them.<br>"Let's go and help, Theoden-king." said Aragorn encouragingly, smiling.  
>"Let's fight, and let the strength of Rohan return!" Theoden made a huge smile too, and nodded. Soon, their horses were ready, and the men who still had strength left were all ordered to get ready.<br>"Men of Rohan, do not fear! Fight fiercely for your family! Fight for your king!" shouted Aragorn, and Theoden drew his sword, pointing it at the enemy.  
>With that, the men kicked their horses and galloped through the orcs, killing them every second.<p>

Elvish translations (sorry I was a bit lazy to put it on the other chapters) : Hir-lord Atar-father Durion-dark one


	16. Chapter 16

-The dark halfelven of Imladris-

"Durion." spat Glorfindel, as the two glared at each other, watched by Elrond's children. Durion let out a short laugh, raising his eyebrows as he saw the chain holding his arms.  
>"Well, this was not part of my plan, being locked in a cell, my hands chained. It's more than I expected from this stupid-" Arwen slapped the ring-spirit,<br>cutting his words.  
>"Do not say one word against father, Durion. He is far more greater, stronger than you can imagine." snapped the elleth, grabbing the evil lord's hair and pulling it back, making him moan. Elrohir stared at his sister, his eyes widening at her actions. Durion groaned, smiled, and sneered, "Pathetic elf, you are."<br>Glorfindel glared at him as a warning, but was ignored.  
>"Don't you understand? I am controlling this. I pass all of the pain to Elrond, but I have his powers. Tell me, Arwen. How many times should I explain this simple thing to you? You are only hurting you father, not thinking at all as you lost your temper."<p>

"How many left?" demanded Theoden, so powerfully that he nearly pushed Gamling off. Haldir counted the enemy, then counted the men left, and reported,  
>"About a few hundred of orcs, and for our men, the same as the last time you asked, Theoden-king." The king nodded, smiled proudly, and replied, "No more dead! Good! We'll just have to continue like this, there are only a few orcs left!"<br>"Remember, my king, that Durion is still not defeated. And also, even if Elrond gets rid of Durion, we still have to destroy the ring." reminded Aragorn,  
>making the others sigh.<br>"I hope Gandalf was here, Sam." whispered Frodo, "I hope Gandalf was here to help us and guide us." Sam smiled softly, and replied, "Who doesn't, Mr. Frodo?  
>But he's gone, and it means we've got to do it ourselves." Eowyn, who heard this conversation between the hobbits, knelt to be the same height as the hobbits, and said, "Do not worry, master hobbits. Though it is indeed a heavy burden, let us not worry about it, but for now, fight for the victory, and feel it!"<br>"The lady's absolutely right, my dear hobbits. You don't need to worry about that." said a familiar voice behind them,surprising everyone. Merry and Pippin,  
>who was discussing about the merry days at the Shire, turned around to see Gandalf smiling at them.<br>"Gandalf!" shouted Gimli, laughing. Gandalf smiled, and said, "My friends, I was worried if I was too late. But hopefully, you were doing well, though you had some problems." Theoden scanned the wizard, and asked, "But you have.. changed. What happened to you?"  
>"Ah, yes. Indeed you are right, Theoden-king. I fell, and found myself in the forgotten palace of the Maias, cured by the lady Nelinei. Then again I awoke in Eomer's camp, and discovered I was no longer Gandalf the Grey, but Gandalf the White."<p>

"Master Gandalf! You are alive! And.. you became.. Mithrandir!" exclaimed Glorfindel, his eyes widening with joy and surprise. Elladan and Elrohir was also very pleased to see the newly-born wizard.  
>"Here is where Durion is, Gandalf. Father chose to be locked up, and stop Durion. Now let me warn you, he is Durion, and he is more stronger." warned Glorfindel. Gandalf nodded, and replied, "So do I, Glorfindel."<p>

Durion opened his eyes as he heard the door creaking open. He was surprised to see the wizard he thought was dead, but didn't show it, trying to look calm. But even the ring spirit couldn't deny, his muscles were hurting a lot from being his arms chained up for a long time.  
>"Gandalf the White, you've become?" sneered Durion, grasping the cold chain to endure the pain. Gandalf looked at the prisoner, keeping his silence. The evil lord glared at the wizard, and spat hot blood, choking. After a while, Gandalf finally opened his mouth to speak.<br>"You have fallen, Durion." he said coldly, slowly walking around the cell. He continued, "Upadion has fled, and your orcs are defeated. And I assume that Sauron has heard of your betrayal. There's nobody to help you, you have to admit that. You are completely defeated, Durion. Soon, Elrond will get rid of you, and again, the journey shall begin, and you shall be thrown in the fires of mount Doom." Durion simply ignored Gandalf's words, but deep inside his mind, he could feel Elrond rising again, and agreed that the wizard was right.  
>"You know nothing of my powers, wizard. I am stronger than any of your companions, I am the one ring!" To his surprise, Gandalf nodded, saying, "Yes,<br>you're right about that. But not Elrond. Elrond is far more stronger and powerful than you. He will get rid of you, I'm sure." The conversation was interrupted,  
>as shouts were heard from outside, and Gamling entered the cell.<br>"My lord, we have won! The orcs are defeated, and Upadion is caught!" exclaimed the man victoriously, and smile spread on the maia's face. Gandalf left the room with Gamling, leaving Durion alone.  
>"Foolish things," muttered Durion, as he found out that the guards forgot to cover his mouth after the conversation. He smiled, and whispered some spells,<br>healing himself. Then suddenly, the chains begun to melt, and Durion was free.

"Upadion." said Aragorn, glancing at the chained elf warrior. Upadion raised his head to see Aragorn, Theoden and Thranduil looking at him. He gasped at his situation, and begged, "My lord, please! I was fooled by the one ring! I was going to stop him when-"  
>"Enough." interrupted Thranduil, approaching the evil elf.<br>"Do you think we do not know what happened? You helped Durion to get control of Elrond and gain more powers! You killed your own people, innocent men, and you led the orcs to attack Rohan! You should be punished, but we do not want any more misery, so I'll give you one single more chance."  
>"My lord Thranduil-" stopped Aragorn, "He tortured you! He does not deserve it!" Thranduil shook his head, and continued, "I will give you one more chance,<br>Upadion. But first, you shall be locked up for a while, since we have a bigger problem for now."  
>"Thank you, my lord! I shall never forget your kindness!" pleaded Upadion, but Thranduil ignored him.<br>"Gamling, lock him in a cell far from Durion's, and check Durion once more!" ordered Theoden, glancing at the elf warrior with disgust.  
>"As you say, my king!" Gamling commanded the guards to take the elf, and led him into the dungeons. The men descended the stairs, stopped in front of a wooden door, the guards pushed Upadion in, and locked the door. "You stay here, and guard the door." The men nodded, and stood at their position. Gamling walked through the long hallways of the dark dungeon, until he reached the end, where Durion was chained. "What-" gasped the man, as he saw the door open, and the melted chains hanging down. Gamling's eyes widened, and froze for a moment, surprised. Waking up, he ran through the hallways again, climbed the stairs, and reached Theoden.<br>"What is it, Gamling?" asked Theoden, rising an eyebrow at the alarmed rohirrim.  
>"It's him.. Durion! He broke out!"<p>

The whole fortress was alarmed at the news, and started searching for the dark lord. Meanwhile, Durion himself was still hiding inside the cell, looking for some weapons. "Useless." muttered the spirit, throwing a dagger away, and turning around for something more powerful. Then, he smiled as he finally saw what he exactly needed, a sword with a long blade. Though it wasn't a good one, it was enough to kill a few guards, and free Upadion. Durion walked swiftly through the dungeon, and finally found the cell where Upadion was staying. The elf approached the guards coolly, hiding the sword behind him.  
>"Who are you?" demanded a guard, trying to make out the stranger's face, which was hidden in the dark.<br>"Ah, no one, guard. I'm just Durion, the leader of the pitiless orcs who killed your people. Don't you worry, human, death only hurts for a short time." sneered the evil lord, smiling sharply.  
>"What? Wait, you are-" The guard never had the chance to finish the sentence, for within a blink of an eye, his throat was cut by Durion's new blade. His colleagues soon followed him, and Upadion, sensing something has happened, cried out, "Hello? What's going on?"<br>"Nothing, Upadion. I was just looking for you, in this unexpected situation." Durion kicked the door, and by Upadion's surprise, the chain that held the door locked broke in pieces, leaving the door open.  
>"My lord..." whispered the younger elf, stunned, his eyes widening as he caught the sight of the wounded elf, armed by a long blade, dripping blood.<br>"Come out! We have things to do, including blowing up this unpleasant fortress filled with filthy mortals."  
>"Yes, my lord. But how? We've lost our army, and now Saruman and Sauron won't accept you!" "Of course they will, do not forget I'm the one ring. But we won't need them for my success, nor the orcs, now that I fully regained my power."<br>"Your power is back?" asked Upadion, half joyful, and half in disbelief. He couldn't understand how could the spirit's great power could be able to use so easily.  
>"The unexpected beating of Arwen seems to hurt Elrond's mind, and it became easier to gain all of my powers, eliminating him."<p>

"Where do you suppose he is?" asked Elrohir, sharpening his hadhafang. Elladan simply sighed, for he too was annoyed by this sudden escape. Elladan raised his eyebrows, and shrugged. Arwen paced across the hall, worried about Elrond, even if he wasn't himself for now.  
>"Did you check the dungeons?" questioned the elleth, though she knew what answer she would get.<br>"Of course, my lady. But we didn't find any sign of Durion, and for Upadion, he is guarded well." answered Legolas softly.  
>"What? You should have checked it again! Didn't anyone tell you? Durion can use every one of his great powers! He is more powerful than when he was dwelt in the ring, now that he is in a living form!"<br>"Wait, I didn't hear of his powers but only he grew a bit stronger! Took! Tell me what exactly happened before I came!" Pippin startled at the sudden mention of his name, looked at the wizard, not knowing what he just said. "Sorry, Gandalf? Oh, his powers? Well, he was really strong, like he could lift a horse with a hand! And... Yes, he muttered some spells, concentrated, and a horrible sound came. Some children and old men started to bleed, and even for us who covered our ears with elven cloth, it hurt like a needle. Also, he fooled the orcs, making them really loyal to him, foget about betrayals!" Gandalf's eyes widened, and he gasped, "Elbereth, Elendil, Gil-galad, or whoever,  
>please help!"<p>

"As I guessed, he's not here anymore!" shouted Gandalf angrily, as he saw the dead bodies of the poor men, and the door open. Even when he knew the ring-spirit's power, his jaw dropped at the scene of three dead guards, their swords not even pulled out, and the open door, with pieces of chains dangling next to it.  
>"How could it be- This is unacceptable! The spirit shall pay for this! I curse him!" roared Eomer, as he caught the sight of the dead men, with their eyes open, fear and surprise still showing on them. Eomer sniffed, knelt down, and slowly closed their eyes with his hands, whispereing, "Stay in peace, my old friends. Please forgive me to be too late to save you from this horrible spirit." Theoden, not realizing the reason of his nephew's grief, reached the scene,<br>an eyebrow raised by curiosity.  
>"What-" Theoden couldn't finish his speech, for he was even more grieved to see the lifeless bodies of his loyal men. The king seemed as if he was going to cry for a while, but he closed his eyes to calm himself, opened them again, and put his warm hand on Eomer's shoulder, grabbing it firmly.<br>"Cheer up, Eomer. They shall dwell peacefully in the halls of Mandos, and they would be happy and proud of it. Now, do not let their death in vain. We will eliminate the evil spirit who did this, and make revenge!"  
>"Thank you, my lord. You are right." Agreed Eomer, nodding and stroking the dead man's face once more.<br>"Now, again, we have a dead end. They could be hiding anywhere. They could even be outside Helm's deep by now!" despaired Theoden, sighing deeply.  
>"No. Durion won't go outside the deep. He will stay here, and he will attack soon." claimed Gandalf, stroking his staff absent-mindedly.<p>

"My lords! A fire!" shrieked a maid, bursting inside the dungeon and surprising the men. Theoden's eyes widended at the news, knowing directly who caused it.  
>"Where?"<br>"In the hall! The men were celebrating victory, when a small explosion happened, and fire spread over the crowd! It has been dealed with, but there are some who died, my lord. Ten dead!"  
>"Filthy spirit, curse it! It is killing innocent men, my king! Innocent, brave men who were friends of ours! This is a massacre!" roared Eomer, and this time, Theoden didn't stop him. The maid led them all to the hall, where the half-frightened and half-furious crowd were surrounding the dead bodies, and the burnt table.<br>"Aragorn, Glorfindel! Tell me what happened!" demanded Gandalf alarmingly, shaking the dunedain's shoulders.  
>"We don't know! Like you, we have just arrived!" The wizard sighed, let Aragorn go, and caught the hobbits in the crowd.<br>"Gandalf! This is terrible!" cried Sam, as he caught the sight of Gandalf approaching them.  
>"Tell me, what exactly happened? I want every single detail of it!" Frodo shook his head, gesturing that he wasn't close enough to see everything.<br>"Merry and Pippin were closest to the scene, I think." mentioned Sam, and the two other hobbits agreed, nodding.  
>Pippin explained, "It happened like this : We were all celebrating, drinking, singing, until Merry heard a shout. We don't know who, but somebody talked to a stranger nobody had seen before, so I bet he asked the stranger his identity. But the stranger said something that angered the men,<br>and then suddenly, boom! After we could hardly see ourselves because of the smoke."

"So, did you find out source of the fire?" demanded Eowyn, as she saw the others coming. Gimli sighed, and said, "You know it is obvious, my lady. Yes, it's Durion. It could be nothing else." Eowyn agreed with the dwarf, but a sign of dissatisfaction was slightly showed on her face.  
>Aragorn, who noticed it, added, "But we've got a clue. At least we're sure of Durion's prescence, and he doesn't have thousands of orcs this time. All we need to do is find him, and catch him." Eowyn raised an eyebrow at the ranger, sighing.<br>"Lord Aragorn, you didn't think I would be fooled by that words of comfort?"  
>"It was worth a try, my lady." said Aragorn, smiling softly. Eowyn rolled her eyes, grinning.<br>"Seriously, lord Aragorn. this is not the right time for joking and laughing. Look! Now everyone's staring at us."

Arwen slowly walked through the forest, not knowing where she was, or why she was going. She felt that she had to go that way. It was a place she have never been before, probably deep in the forest. Nobody knew she was there, and Arwen expected for the others to recognize her absence by now, which was true. The elf soon found herself in front of a stairway of stones, which led into the undergorund, which was covered with heavy air and darkness. She wasn't sure, but Arwen thought that she heard low whispers deep inside from the dark. It sounded like elvish, but both sounded evil, which was unsual in elvish speeches. Her eyes widened as she saw the Evenstar shining, as she walked down the stairs. Soon, Arwen discovered the Evenstar was leading her into the underground.  
>"It is a magnificent place, my lord, but are you sure no one shall be able to find us?" asked the voice of Upadion, followed by the cold, clear voice of Durion.<br>"Yes. It is hidden with great power, it can be only seen when somebody leads others to this place, which is impossible when nobody can see it." Arwen raised an eyebrow at the fact that she could see the stairways, but soon understood that Elrond was using Vilya, his elvish ring, which was still obeying to him, to summon the Evenstar.  
>"Its only weakness is, that when you see it once, you can find it easily after your first sight." added Durion proudly, since he believed his hiding place could never be seen. "We shall stay here until tomorrow night, and when the time comes, you shall be able to watch the destruction of Helm's deep." Arwen listened at this conversation for a moment, and suddenly realized that she just found Durion, who wanted by every man in Helm's deep, and that she could lead them here.<p>

"My lady!" exclaimed Isa, as she caught the sight of Arwen approaching. The others all turned at them, surprised by the servant's sudden shout. Aragorn, and the elves' eyes widened as they slowly saw whom they were struggling to find, and all shouted in joy and relief.  
>"Arwen! Where were you?" asked Elrohir, as he hugged his sister. After the twins, Arwen was welcomed by Aragorn's hug, and Glorfindel's cries of relief. The elleth smiled at those who all were very excited, and calmed them.<br>"I'm fine. But I've just found where Durion is." 


End file.
